Specifically, he thinks CDOT gave Boulder, Broomfield and Adams counties residents the short end of the stick because CDOT is spending significantly more per mile on I-25 improvements from Loveland to Fort Collins than it spent on improving U.S. 36 from Denver to Boulder.

Jones, D-Louisville, requested numbers on the two projects from Larson Silbaugh, senior economist on the Colorado Legislative Council.

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Silbaugh responded that the U.S. 36 improvements cost CDOT a total of $92.4 million for 36 miles of toll lanes, or $2.57 million per toll lane mile. The I-25 project from Loveland to Fort Collins is projected to cost CDOT $147 million for 28 miles of toll lane, or $5.25 million per toll lane mile.

Amy Ford, CDOT director of communications, confirmed that those numbers are correct but said that there are several factors that make the I-25 project more expensive for CDOT than the U.S. 36 project.

Jones, however, didn't accept CDOT's reasoning for the cost discrepancy.

First, Ford said, the U.S. 36 project began in 2012 while the I-25 project from Loveland to Fort Collins is projected to begin in 2018.

Construction prices have increased in that time and CDOT is trying to be as accurate as possible in predicting the costs, Ford said.

"Projects are not always a fair comparison, even a mile-to-mile comparison because each project has its own unique scope," Ford said in a Tuesday interview. "CDOT works very hard to use those dollars as efficiently as we possibly can and project realistically what the budget should be so we can stay on budget and we work closely with the contracting community on estimates."

She added that CDOT has finished on time and on budget for the projects it has completed in the last 30 years.

"If we say it's going to cost a little more because of a variety of time and other factors, it's not a reflection of how efficiently we're using the money or how we're doing the work — it's a reflection of the costs to do the projects," Ford said.

Jones said he is very dubious that construction estimates per mile could have more than doubled in six years.

"I find that one hard to believe. Construction costs cannot have doubled in a few years. They (I-25) are getting more than what we (U.S. 36) did per mile," he said in an interview last week. "Had we had the same amount of money per mile, there would have been no need for a 50-year private deal."

CDOT entered a public-private partnership with Plenary Roads Denver to collect tolls for the express lanes along U.S. 36. The express lanes are available for buses, carpool vehicles (which CDOT increased to three people per car instead of two in 2017) and tolled for drivers who wish to take the express lane.

The state owns the highway, but Plenary has a contract to maintain the road and operate the toll lane.

Ford said that besides the timing element, the projects are not apples-to-apples comparisons because there is more technology being incorporated in the I-25 project than in the U.S. 36 project.

CDOT will add express lanes to the section of I-25 between Loveland and Fort Collins like they were added to U.S. 36.

Similarly, U.S. 36 improvements included Intelligent Transportation System signage that can change and tell people toll rates, or about traffic or closures up ahead.

Ford said that the I-25 project will include sensors embedded in the roadway in order to better accommodate connected vehicles that communicate to other vehicles in order to avoid accidents.

In order to support the sensors, CDOT has to upgrade fiber optic networks along the roadway as well. While U.S. 36 contained some fiber, Ford said the I-25 project will have considerably more.

Jones remained skeptical, saying he couldn't see how someone could build a smarter road than U.S. 36.

Lastly, Ford pointed out that Regional Transportation District dollars were involved in the U.S. 36 project but not in the I-25 project from Loveland to Fort Collins, meaning CDOT has to shoulder more of the cost.

RTD revenues come from taxes within the district, which only reaches as far north as Boulder County.

Jones said that justification was the most ridiculous. He said that Larimer County should form its own transportation district to pay for the I-25 projects like RTD paid for parts of the U.S. 36 project.

"People in the Denver area pay extra sales tax to RTD for transit. Northern Colorado could do the same," he said. "So because we are willing to tax ourselves, we should get less? CDOT using that as an excuse is absurd."

Jones said he is hearing from constituents who say that Boulder, Broomfield and Adams counties are getting shorted with CDOT and he is frustrated.

"We paid an extra tax to do road improvements," he said. "Northern Colorado could form a regional transportation district and help pay for this. That would be fair. That would be equivalent."

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